Waikato flooding: Labour leader Chris Hipkins visits damaged Ōtorohanga school

Labour leader Chris Hipkins chats to Ōtorohanga Primary deputy principal Bex Asplet on his visit to the flood-hit school.

Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins visited Ōtorohanga Primary School this week to see recovery progress after flooding during February’s deadly rain event.

Heavy surface flooding and slips closed key state highways after thunderstorms and downpours drenched parts of the North Island.

A man died after his car became submerged in floodwaters while travelling on State Highway 39 in the Ōtorohanga district on February 13.

Ōtorohanga Primary School was so severely affected by the weather it had to close after 170mm of rain fell overnight on February 13.

The school flooded, with its pool submerged, deputy principal Bex Asplet said.

“I remember the smell,” she said.

Hipkins’ visit came on the tail end of Cyclone Vaianu, one of six major weather events since the start of the year.

While much of the school’s renovation work had already been completed before Hipkin’s visit, the community spirit was inspiring, he said.

The Labour leader told the Waikato Herald it was important for him to be present in communities during tough times and said the days of going back to the old Kiwi summer were over.

“Communities like Ōtorohanga are still rebuilding while worrying about what comes next.”

“This is climate change.”

Bex Asplet and Chris Hipkins check out a contaminated classroom.

He said recovery needed to include a look at building resilient infrastructure.

Asplet said that while the school was under renovation, the students had been using the hall to study in or using Ōtorohanga South School.

Ōtorohanga Primary School is expected to reopen next week.

Ōtorohanga Mayor Rodney Dow said that although progress had been made, recovery was still in its early stages.

“It’s only been a short time, and this is the only recovery I’ve been involved in,” Dow said.

“We have a dedicated recovery team working very hard, and I believe we are doing okay. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Twenty-three homes and buildings remained yellow-stickered, either under repair or awaiting the start of work, leaving some residents displaced.

Critical infrastructure was also still being restored.

“Roads and parks still need to be repaired, and a lot of farms and infrastructure need to be remedied,” Dow said.

“It takes time, and technical reports are needed to work through what solutions are best.”

Support for schools is ongoing, though Dow said updates were best provided by the schools themselves.

Questions around funding remained unresolved, with discussions ongoing with central government agencies, including Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

“It’s a bit early to fully answer that,” Dow said.

“But it’s inevitable that ratepayers and taxpayers will contribute – unless we get on Santa’s list.”

Dow acknowledged the flooding had been classified as an extreme weather event and said the council was already taking lessons from it.

“We are learning from this event how to better prepare ourselves in case we get another one.”

He said the district was now in a stronger position than it had been in February.

“I think we are better prepared now than we were on February 13, so I would be confident we could handle another storm,” he said.

“We don’t have a choice but to handle it.”

Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.